05/12/2025

December 05, 2025

The Daily Dirt Aus

By G’day Construction………….…… 

THE MORNING PAPER FOR CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS AND TRADIES

🚨 Safety Updates

The 2024–25 Annual Report outlines accredited providers’ delivery of Health and Safety Representative training. A total of 6,472 people were trained, including 4,591 completing the five-day HSR course and 1,881 undertaking refresher training, demonstrating strong participation and compliance with Work Health and Safety Commission requirements.

A construction company was fined $350,000, and a subcontractor $250,000, after a 19-year-old worker died in 2021 when a 250kg sea-container ramp fell on him. The court found there were no safe work procedures and the winch meant to assist the task was unmaintained and inoperable.

✒ Headlines & Industry

Macromonitor reports Australia’s renewable energy construction has tripled since 2021, reaching $13.2 billion in 2024/25 and projected to peak at $23 billion by FY2029. Growth is driven by wind, solar, and battery projects, supported by the Capacity Investment Scheme and coal retirements, though high costs, grid delays, and planning risks remain.

A Queensland inquiry has heard a CFMEU leader "watched on" as AWU state branch leader Stacey Schinnerl was publicly harassed and berated by a CFMEU member in 2023. Ms Schinnerl, the AWU's first female Queensland leader, broke down as she recounted the confrontation.

Australia’s construction workforce is forecast to reach 1.5 million by 2030, driven mainly by residential building and energy, water, and major infrastructure projects. Despite strong activity, new project flow is slowing, and the nation faces a five-year housing shortfall of 275,000 homes, highlighting workforce and capacity constraints across the sector.

🏗️ Projects

ACT

Four massive steel girders, each 53 m long and up to 55 t, have arrived in Canberra for the Parkes Way light-rail bridge. Using a 750-tonne crane, the girders will be lifted into place this weekend, forming part of Stage 2A of the network, due for passenger service in 2028.

NSW

The next Greater Sydney Region Plan must tackle spatial inequality, guide transport-oriented development, and align growth with infrastructure. With major population increases forecast, clearer criteria for TODs, improved transparency, housing affordability, climate resilience, and long-term accessibility—including rail, autonomous vehicles, and centres planning—are essential to shape Sydney’s future development.

Construction has commenced on new $49 million pump stations at Nyngan and Hermidale, upgrading western NSW’s critical water supply to strengthen Cobar’s water security. Jointly funded by the Australian Government, NSW Government, and local councils, the project includes modern technology, improved safety, and reduced failure risk, with completion expected by mid-2027.

QLD

Kokoda Property Group has appointed Versatile Group to build the $1.5 billion Teneriffe Banks precinct in Brisbane. Construction starts December 2025, delivering 212 luxury apartments across four buildings from 2028. The project will create around 2,000 subcontractor jobs and feature high-end amenities, public spaces, and homes priced from $1.99 million to $28 million.

A 15-storey residential tower that draws on the industrial character of neighbouring heritage factories has been approved for development in Brisbane’s Newstead. The high-rise is set to be established on a former industrial site at 16–22 Maud Street. Designed by Plus Studio for BPG Developments.

VIC

Goulburn Valley Water will build a $4.08 million permanent flood barrier at Shepparton Water Treatment Plant, jointly funded with the Commonwealth’s Disaster Ready Fund. The project will protect critical infrastructure supplying drinking water to Greater Shepparton, ensuring safe, reliable services during extreme floods, with construction planned to start in early 2027.

WA

Perth Airport has awarded the $1 billion contract for construction of its new runway to a joint venture between BMD Group and CPB Contractors.

🧰 Construction Au Other

AI is transforming construction, but strong planning and human expertise remain essential. Currie & Brown research shows firms using AI are more confident in delivering projects despite uncertainty, reducing delays, cancellations, and financial losses. Success comes from integrating AI into clear strategies from the start, empowering teams to act on insights, and designing adaptable delivery models—proving that technology supports, rather than replaces, experienced decision-making.

🚀 Innovation, Digital & Futuristic Technology

Charles Darwin University and the NT Government are developing roads using shredded tyre waste and recycled plastics, improving durability under extreme heat and UV conditions. The project aims to outperform traditional pavements, reduce costs, and promote local recycling, supporting a circular economy while addressing the Territory’s unique infrastructure challenges.

SIMPO, developed by Sun Yat-sen University, enables code-free wastewater treatment modelling through a cloud-based, drag-and-drop interface. Validated against industry benchmarks, it allows utilities, researchers, and students to design, test, and optimise activated sludge and nutrient-removal models, enhancing accessibility, collaboration, and operational efficiency in wastewater management.

Research shows near-surface-mounted reinforcement restores shear capacity in concrete beams with vertical openings, improving structural performance.

Downstream, an online equipment rental marketplace, raised $8M Series A to let contractors rent machinery like ordering lunch. The platform connects users with vetted suppliers, managing procurement, billing, and logistics digitally. It serves construction, utilities, and homebuilding, offering equipment from dumpsters and scissor lifts to cranes, streamlining jobsite rentals nationwide.

🌱 Sustainability ​& Environment

Australia’s ARC Research Hub for Smart Process Design and Control has launched at Monash University to make steel production greener and more sustainable. Steel, vital for infrastructure, contributes 8% of global CO₂ emissions. The hub unites researchers to develop innovative, low-emission production processes, supporting both industry and environmental goals.

The global Sustainability in Construction Market is growing rapidly, driven by carbon reduction, green building practices, and regulatory mandates. Adoption of energy-efficient systems, smart technologies, and responsible materials is rising across residential and non-residential projects. Key markets include North America and APAC, with major players like Gilbane, Turner, and Hensel Phelps.

🌏 Around the World

Malaysia is building Andaman Island, a $14 billion reclaimed land project off Penang, aiming for 16,000 residents in luxury apartments across 760 acres. Using sand, PVD drains, and rock bunds, it’s connected via two bridges. Unlike Forest City, Andaman is smaller, locally funded, and already seeing strong sales, reducing ghost-town risk.

Mammoet successfully transported and weighed three major substations for the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, soon the world’s largest offshore wind project (3.6 GW). The complex operation spanned Thailand and Norway, using 682 axle lines of SPMTs, custom frames, and precise load management, highlighting meticulous engineering, logistics, and international coordination.

Heavy-lift drones have been used to transport power transmission tower parts to designated positions across a rainforest in southwest China's Yunnan Province, in a bid to reduce damage to the environment.

📖 Miscellaneous

Modo Energy has raised $50 million in a Series B round led by Molten Ventures to expand its global battery energy storage benchmarking platform. The UK-based company plans to deploy AI-powered valuation systems, enhancing dynamic, explainable analysis for BESS assets across Europe, Australia, and the US.

Data centre construction is driving a pick-up in commercial construction that has pushed the NSW pipeline to nearly $42 billion in the September quarter, its highest level in a year-and-a-half and almost twice the pipeline of Queensland, the next-busiest state, new industry figures show. The value.

Australia is pouring unprecedented resources into AI infrastructure, with data centres sprouting nationwide and equipment spending in IT surpassing traditional construction investment. Giants like Amazon and Macquarie Technology are driving multi-billion-dollar projects, creating construction jobs but diverting labour from critical housing development. While the AI boom could boost enterprise efficiency, experts warn of risks resembling the 2000 dot-com bubble: massive investment in data centres may not translate into broad national benefit if returns fail to materialize. The tension is clear—server racks or homes?

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Alex

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